culinary adventures and occasional disasters

steak

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We had someone over for dinner last night, and steak is usually the go-to when we have meat eating friends over for dinner. Steak is a good weeknight dinner, too, because it’s easy and fast. I love the perfect portions grass fed steaks from Wegmans. The ones I chose yesterday were about 7oz each. While I used sirloins yesterday, this is my go-to method for most steaks (including filet, as mentioned in this abbreviated post). I served these with honey yeast rolls, rustic herb green beans, roasted potatoes, and Ross Andrew “The Huntsman” 2015 cabernet sauvignon.

The cooking times on this are an approximation for a medium cook on a 7oz cut about 2 inches thick, so you may need to adjust depending on the sizes of your steaks and desired level of doneness. My steaks were also cold from the fridge. It’s best if you can allow them to sit out for about 30-45 minutes before cooking, but I forgot to take them out.

Make sure your pan is oven safe – not all pans are. If your pans are not oven safe, you could probably preheat a stone baking dish and transfer the steaks onto that to finish in the oven. Preheating will be key because you want the surface they’re transferred onto to be hot. (I use a Calphalon pan like this one*)

Meanwhile, blot each steak dry with a paper towel and rub with olive oil and a lot of seasoning.

Once the pan is extra hot, coat it with a bit of olive oil. You should be able to tell right away that the pan is hot. The olive oil will be really liquid-y upon hitting the pan, and will smoke a little.

Place steaks in the pan and sear for about 4 minutes. Flip and sear for another 4 minutes.

Transfer the pan directly to the oven, and cook for another 4 minutes. Remove from the oven, and check internal temperature with a thermometer (140-145° for medium). Let them rest for about 3 minutes before serving. (Note: USDA recommends cooking to 145° before resting.)

Like this:

Mmmmm filet mignon. Pretty much one of my favorite foods, so it’s even better that they’re quick and reasonably easy to make.

Update: See this post for a better description of the process to cook these steaks. While these turned out well, I think my pan could have been hotter from the beginning. I would’ve gotten a better sear, and they wouldn’t need as much time in the oven.

Preheat oven to 400°. If you have a convection setting, you can use it at 375°.

Pat steaks dry and season with salt. In an oven-proof skillet, sear 4 minutes, flip, sear another 4 minutes. Transfer to oven, cook for about 5-6 minutes (for medium). Transfer to a plate, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes.